Fantaspoa, the largest film festival dedicated to fantastic cinema in Latin America, concluded its 2026 edition on Sunday night, the 26th, with its awards ceremony and the screening of Remance, a feature film directed by Kapel Furman and produced by Fantaspoa Produções.
Over the course of 19 days, the event brought together both in-person and online audiences in an intense program celebrating the best of contemporary fantastic cinema, fostering encounters between filmmakers, audiovisual professionals, and viewers. This year, Fantaspoa occupied five major screening venues in Porto Alegre: Cinemateca Capitólio, Cinemateca Paulo Amorim, CineBancários, Sala Redenção, and Instituto Ling, reaffirming its commitment to audience diversity and the democratization of access to cinema.
In total, combining both in-person screenings and the free online program available throughout Brazil via the Darkflix+ platform - which featured a special selection of 77 short films and reached 535 thousand views - this year’s edition of the festival gathered approximately 550 thousand spectators.The festival also welcomed more than 80 national and international guests and hosted 24 world premieres, reinforcing its international relevance as an exhibition platform. In addition to film screenings, audiences attended debates, Q&A’s, meetings with filmmakers, educational activities, and special events that transformed the festival into an important space for cultural exchange and the strengthening of independent audiovisual production.
One of the major milestones of this edition was the unprecedented presentation of the Méliès Silver Award for Best European Feature Film. For the first time, Fantaspoa joined the select group of festivals responsible for granting this honor, becoming the first non-European festival to receive this distinction and further reinforcing its prestige within the international fantastic film circuit.
The awards ceremony recognized the highlights of this edition across several competitive categories, celebrating productions from different countries and cinematic languages.
The Fantaspoa 2026 edition recap is available in the link: https://youtu.be/UmHHrxM4PpI?si=bkHvL9O6Dy2HezRP
Check out the winners of the 22nd Fantaspoa below:
International Competition (Jury: Fernando Sanches, Matheus Marchetti, Mauricio Chernovetzky) Best Film: Interior (dir. Pascal Schuh) Best Director: Dean Francis, for Body Blow Best Screenplay: Chris Marrs Piliero, for Apopheniacs Best Art Direction: Andy Currie, for Marama Best Actor: Alper Kul, for The Turkish Coffee Table Best Actress: Jelena Djoki?, for Karmadonna Best Cinematography: Meekaaeel Adam, for The Trek Best Special Effects: Mag Mag Special Mention - Scariest Film: Dead Eyes (dir. Richard E. Williams) Special Mention - Best Fever Dream: Camp (dir. Avalon Fast) Special Mention - Best Choreography: Levitating (dir. Wregas Bhanuteja)
Ibero-American Competition (Jury: Aleksandra Hansen, Hunter Truman, Pascal Schuh) Best Film: Cielo (dir. Alberto Sciamma) Best Director: Tomás Pichardo Espaillat, for Olivia & the Clouds Best Screenplay: Paul Urkijo Alijo, for Gaua Best Actor: Fernando Arze Echalar, for Cielo Best Actress: Flora Sylvestre, for Luna Rosa: The Seventh Ascension of Atabey
Short Film Competition (Jury: Christopher Faust, Fernanda Talarico) National: Contrato (dir. Deivis Horbach, Kiwi Bertola) International Animation: Praying Mantis (dir. Joe Hsieh) International Live-Action: Tainted Love (dir. Youngho Gye) Méliès Award: Glory Hole (dir. Andoni Fernandez) Special Mention: Klee (dir. Gavin Baird)
Low Budget Great Films Competition (Jury: Dean Francis, Lucas Abrahão) Best Film: The Peril at Pincer Point (dir. Jake Kuhn, Noah Stratton-Twine) Special Mention: Bagworm (dir. Oliver Bernsen)
Brazilian Competition (Jury: Karen Lam, Kate Krol) Best Film: Covil (dir. Rodrigo Lages)
Madrugadão Award (Jury: James C. Williamson, Meekaaeel Adam) Mad Mask (dir. Nagano, Katsuya Arai)
Méliès Silver Award (Jury: André Sigwalt, Kapel Furman) Gaua (dir. Paul Urkijo Alijo)
Special Award for Best Acting Ensemble Corporate Retreat (dir. Aaron Fisher)